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Inquisition
"Eternal Vigilance." The Inquisition began as the dark arm of the medieval Roman Catholic Church. Medieval heretical sects forced the Catholic Church to adopt a system of religious examination to determine the faithfulness of its subjects. In the beginning, this process was relatively mundane, but as time went on, however, the Catholic Church began to run across truly heretical groups. Chief among these revealed foes were nests of Infernalists dotted across the land. The Inquisition soon went from being an agency of the Vatican to a creature in its own right. A relatively new religious group, the Dominican Order of Preachers (whose founder and leaders were mostly Priests), were put in charge, and they brought to the Inquisition a driving zeal to root out all forms of Infernalism and burn it from the face of the Earth. Thus was born the Inquisition as it is still known to this day. Facts: -The Inquisition is a fierce agency, but they have little choice, for their organization exists to hunt down what is probably the great threat known to man - the Demonic. -The Inquisition started out within the Catholic Church / Ghosts of Catholicism, but as time went on, it became a full-blooded Chapter in its own right. While questions of religious dogma originally ruled the mindset of the Inquisition, in time their drive to purge Infernalists outweighed everything else. When the Protestant Reformation rocked Europe, the Inquisition was more than willing to cross denominational lines in order to recruit new members and hunt down Demons. In modern times, the Inquisition can be found in many different churches or religious groups. -The Spanish Inquisition, the period in which the Spanish monarchy utilized the Inquisition to root out religious minorities from Spain, is what comes to mind when most people picture the Inquisition. In reality, most Inquisitorial Tribunals were more bureaucratic than tyrannical, and most of the punishments involved where orders for people to wear distinctive badges or to commit spiritual penance such as prayer or pilgrimage. Only when the Inquisition locates Infernals or the practice of Infernalism does this darker side come out. And few are safe when the zealots of the Inquisition are on the hunt. -The Inquisition is paranoid and xenophobic to the extreme. They do not make friends lightly, and they test new recruits extensively. Even after being accepted, the Inquisition maintains a high level of discipline and vetting. Daily rituals performed by all members involve holy water, prayers of exorcism, and more, all designed to ensure that no one within the Inquisition ever falls under demonic influence in any way. -The Inquisition is a bit contradictory; on the one hand, it claims to root out that which is kept in secret (Infernalism), yet they themselves keep secrets and rarely reveal much of themselves to anyone. They also tend to poke and prod in other people's business, something which has earned them a veritable laundry list of enemies and critics. -Also, individual rights probably aren't this Chapter's strong point. It's not that the Inquisition seeks to use and discard people like cannon fodder, but the dire threat they operate under means that agents of the Inquisition feel no moral compunction about trampling on the rights of others in pursuit of their goal. -The Order of Priests founded the Inquisition. It takes orders from no one, but the closest thing the Chapter has to a cordial patronage with would probably have to be the Priestly Order. Other Orders strongly associated with the Inquisition are the Inquisitors (big surprise, there) and Exorcists. Sinister Reputation: People who come under the attention of the Inquisition can expect to have their every dirty secret sought after and closely examined. And those who cross the Inquisition have a history of disappearing without a trace.... The Inquisition believes in using fear and intimidation to accomplish its mission, and they clearly aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. The Inquisition is dark and secretive. They never open up to outsiders, and even their closest allies never feel like they are wholly 'trusted.' The Inquisition is racked with paranoia and they often see lacquered demon claws poking out from behind every rock and bush. This makes them highly attentive, unfortunately, it also makes them very trigger happy. Relationship With Other Chapters: The Inquisition believes it has a mandate from God, by right of their own intentions and power, to root out the Infernal and purge it from this world. But the Infernal is insidious and seductive. It has fastened itself into every layer of society, and even well-intentioned Adepts (and their Chapters) may have been infiltrated by want of their own human vices. This means that the Inquisition can trust no one. All are suspect. All are potential 'hosts' to the Infernal, and they must be constantly examined and re-examined in order to prove their purity. The Inquisition is not stupid, however, and it recognizes that from time to time, it must ally itself with other forces at work in the world. But any alliance with the Inquisition will be, by design, temporary and often short lived. The only real exception to this rule is the Inquisition's relationship with the Order of Priests and the Church. The Inquisition was founded by a Priest and the Priestly Order has contributed the most to the Chapter's leadership roster. What's more, the bulk of the Inquisition's spiritual power is derived from Saints who are closely associated with the hunting of Infernals, such as St. Irenaeus and St. Ignatius of Loyola. Even here, the Inquisition will not simply throw open its doors and allow Priests from outside of the Chapter to wander their secreted hallways. But the Inquisition undeniably has a close relationship with the Premiere members of the Ecclesiastical Orders. Spiritual Warfare: The Inquisition's tools are designed for combating Infernalism. This means spiritual warfare in the truest sense, complete with Exorcists and the shackling of materialized Demons. Outside of this paradigm, the Inquisition often struggles, but within this narrow field of specialization, they thrive. Few other Chapters produce Exorcists and spiritual combatants who are as skilled and potent as those fielded by the Inquisition. Category:Church Category:Ghosts Of Catholicism Category:Inquisition Category:Spirit Category:Infernal